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For nearly 4,000 years, humanity has tried \u2014 and failed \u2014 to achieve lasting peace. Yet again and again, the evolution of the laws of war has reflected our attempts to limit the horrors of conflict through agreements and treaties.<\/p>\n
Each milestone on this timeline is tied to world events, new technologies, and personal experiences of war. Sometimes those experiences inspire action: never again<\/em>. Here, we also highlight some of the individuals who devoted their minds, hearts, and hands to justice and peace.<\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text uncode_shortcode_id=”381227″]<\/p>\n Hammurabi A growing need for order Abu Bakr Adomn\u00e1n and the Synod of Birr Order and justice Grotius lives through many conflicts. Even during his imprisonment at Loevestein he works on international law. After his escape he is never allowed to return to the Netherlands. In exile he continues his work on the laws of war. He dies in 1645 in Rostock, Germany, and is buried in the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft.<\/p>\n \u201cOne must, as far as possible, prevent the death of innocent civilians, even by accident.\u201d- <\/em>Hugo Grotius<\/p>\n Image: <\/strong>Le Droit de la Guerre et de la Paix<\/em> (1724), the French translation of Hugo Grotius\u2019s On the Law of War and Peace.<\/p>\n Context Born in Berlin, Lieber fights as a young man against Napoleon and in the Greek War of Independence, witnessing war\u2019s effects first-hand. At 29 he emigrates to the U.S., and from 1860 teaches political science at Columbia University. Beyond the Lieber Code he writes on equal rights and abolishing slavery.<\/p>\n \u201cUnnecessary killing, or killing for revenge, is forbidden.\u201d<\/em> -Francis Lieber<\/p>\n Image: <\/strong>Professor Francis Lieber, c. 1860.<\/p>\n Witness to horror Henry Dunant, a Swiss banker, witnesses the aftermath of Solferino in 1859. Thousands lie without help. Deeply moved, he writes A Memory of Solferino<\/em>, urging clear state agreements and a permanent volunteer corps. His core principle: neutrality\u2014help for friend and foe alike. In 1901 he receives the first Nobel Peace Prize.<\/p>\n \u201cTutti fratelli \u2014 we are all brothers.\u201d – <\/em>Henry Dunant<\/p>\n Image: <\/strong>Henry Dunant, photographer unknown, taken c. 1850\u20131860.<\/p>\n Rising tension The Austrian pacifist experiences the Russo-Turkish War and responds with the novel Lay Down Your Arms!. She lectures, organizes congresses and builds peace movements, helping pave the way for The Hague conferences and the Peace Palace (with Andrew Carnegie). In 1905 she becomes the first female Nobel Peace laureate.<\/p>\n \u201cA vital part of our strength seems lost to oblivion.\u201d <\/em>– Bertha von Suttner<\/p>\n Image: <\/strong>Bertha von Suttner, 1906.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text uncode_shortcode_id=”145570″]<\/p>\n Never again New agreements after the Second World War Destruction during the Second World War Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) As a child, Yoko Ono survives the bombing of Tokyo. In 1969 she and John Lennon stage the famous \u201cBed-in\u201d as a peaceful protest against the Vietnam War.<\/p>\n \u201cDeclare it. Just the same way we declare war. That is how we will have peace… we just need to declare it.\u201d<\/em>\u2014 John Lennon (1940\u20131980)<\/p>\n Image: <\/strong>Yoko Ono and John Lennon in the Hilton Hotel Amsterdam during their 1969 Bed-In.<\/p>\n During the Biafra War (Nigeria, 1967\u20131970) famine is widespread and access is blocked. Two French Red Cross doctors see politics hindering aid and in 1971 found M\u00e9decins Sans Fronti\u00e8res. MSF delivers independent medical aid\u2014regardless of side\u2014and speaks out publicly about violations of the laws of war, unlike the Red Cross which relies on confidential dialogue to maintain access.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere the need is greatest, we are there\u2026 we go all-out for our patients.\u201d<\/em> \u2014 MSF mission<\/p>\n Image: <\/strong>Doctors Without Borders (M\u00e9decins Sans Fronti\u00e8res).<\/p>\n War on screen Dubbed the first \u201ctelevision war\u201d, Vietnam sparks mass protests in the U.S. and Europe, including major demonstrations in the Netherlands.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we can change the world, why not from Nijmegen?\u201d<\/em> \u2014 Koos van Zomeren<\/p>\n Image: <\/strong>Demonstration against the war in Vietnam and Cambodia (in Nijmegen), 1975.<\/p>\n Fear of environmental modification Warfare is changing Limits on \u201cconventional\u201d weapons Toward the end of the Cold War No more poison gas Child soldiers The Pakistani activist fights for the right to education. Shot by the Taliban at 14, she continues her work with her foundation. In 2013 she wins KidsRights\u2019 International Children\u2019s Peace Prize.<\/p>\n “If you want to end war, instead of sending guns, send books. Instead of tanks, send pens. Instead of soldier, send teachers.\u201d<\/em> – Malala Yousafzai<\/p>\n Image: <\/strong>Malala Yousafzai, 2014.<\/p>\n From Cameroon, Divina stands up against recruiting child soldiers, exploitation and abuse. With Children for Peace, over 3,000 drawings make children\u2019s experiences visible and empower youth to speak up. In 2019 she wins KidsRights\u2019 International Children\u2019s Peace Prize.<\/p>\n “If you stand up for a cause, be prepared to stand alone like a tree. And if you fall, fall like a seed that grows back to fight again.” <\/em>– Davina Maloum (2003)<\/p>\n Image: <\/strong>Divina Maloum wearing the Children for Peace T-shirt, 2019.<\/p>\n Sofiia Tereshchenko, Anastasiia Feskova & Anastasiia Demchenko<\/strong><\/p>\n Nearly 3.5 million children are currently on the move alone. Experiencing war in Ukraine, the three volunteers build an app to help unaccompanied children find food and safe shelter. In 2023 they win KidsRights\u2019 International Children\u2019s Peace Prize.<\/p>\n “At any point in your life, do not give up. There will always be new opportunities that you might have never even dreamed of.” <\/em>– <\/strong>Sofiia Tereshchenko, 2005<\/p>\n Image<\/strong>: Sofiia Tereshchenko, Anastasiia Feskova & Anastasiia Demchenko<\/p>\n More civilian casualties in cities On 18 May 2025 over 100,000, and on 15 June 2025 even more than 150,000 people form a \u201cred line\u201d from the Malieveld to the Peace Palace, protesting the cabinet\u2019s stance on Israel. Organized by MSF, Amnesty, Oxfam Novib and others, it is the largest Dutch demonstration in two decades.<\/p>\n \u201cWe draw the red line for Gaza!\u201d<\/em> – protesters<\/p>\n Image<\/strong>: The first Red Line Demonstration in The Hague.<\/p>\n Artificial intelligence in weapons After centuries of agreements, IHL remains vital\u2014from Gaza and Ukraine to Sudan, Yemen, Syria, Afghanistan, Myanmar and Congo. Core principles endure: protect people, limit violence, preserve humanity in war. One of the hardest rules is proportionality: civilian harm is not per se illegal, but force must be proportionate to the military goal\u2014drawing that line is difficult.<\/p>\n THE ROLE OF THE RED CROSS AND MSF<\/strong><\/p>\n The Red Cross<\/strong> is neutral and aids victims worldwide: medical care, registering prisoners of war, protecting hospitals. The Geneva Conventions mandate it as an impartial intermediary between parties. It works through quiet diplomacy rather than public statements.<\/p>\n Doctors Without Borders (MSF)<\/strong> also provides medical aid, independently\u2014and can publicly speak out about abuses.<\/p>\nLegend:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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TIMELINE<\/strong><\/h3>\n
18th century BCE \u2014 Babylon & Mesopotamia<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n<\/strong>Hammurabi is the sixth king of Babylon and founder of the Old Babylonian Empire. Between 1792 and 1750 BCE he conquers all of Mesopotamia.
\nCode of Hammurabi
\n<\/strong>Known as the oldest collection of laws. The war section obliges soldiers to fight on the king\u2019s command; prisoners of war can ransom themselves.<\/p>\n500 BCE \u2013 200 CE \u2014 The Hindu Antiquity<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n<\/strong>From 1500 BCE, a complex society emerges in North India. As power and conflict grow, so does the need for order, justice, and rules.
\nManu Smriti<\/strong>
\nA collection of Hindu laws with rules on conduct, justice, and war. Violence must be justified, with respect for prisoners and civilians.<\/p>\nEarly 7th century \u2014 Early Islam<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n<\/strong>Friend, ally and father-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad; after the Prophet\u2019s death (632) he becomes the first Sunni caliph.
\nIslamic law per Abu Bakr
\n<\/strong>Abu Bakr sets clear rules to protect civilians in armed conflict: \u201cDo not let the blood of women, children and the elderly stain your victory.\u201d And: \u201cDo not destroy palm trees, burn no houses or fields, and do not cut fruitful trees.\u201d<\/p>\n697 CE \u2014 The Dream of Saint Adomn\u00e1n<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n<\/strong>Moved by a dream from his mother, the Irish abbot Adomn\u00e1n seeks better protection for innocents in war and convenes the Synod of Birr.
\nC\u00e1in Adomn\u00e1in (Law of the Innocents)
\n<\/strong>Ninety-one kings from Ireland and Great Britain sign what is seen as Europe\u2019s first international treaty. It protects women, children, clergy and the unarmed during war.<\/p>\n1625 \u2014 Turmoil in the Dutch Republic<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n<\/strong>In a time of political chaos, Hugo Grotius argues that war must never be about power alone; it must follow rules, with self-defence and restoring peace as the goal.
\nOn the Law of War and Peace
\n<\/strong>Before this book, war and law were mainly a theologians\u2019 field. Grotius is the first jurist to reason from universal, rational principles, independent of faith or political power\u2014laying the groundwork for modern international humanitarian law.<\/p>\nADVOCATE FOR PEACE \u2014 Hugo Grotius (1583\u20131645)<\/strong><\/h4>\n
1863 \u2014 The American Civil War<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n<\/strong>In 1861 war breaks out between the Northern and Southern states. Existing rules from 1806 say nothing about armed civilians or how to distinguish civilians from soldiers.
\nThe Lieber Code
\n<\/strong>In 1863, Francis (Franz) Lieber writes a code of conduct for the Union army. It bans looting, injuring, raping or killing the population of an occupied area.<\/p>\nADVOCATE FOR PEACE \u2014 Francis (Franz) Lieber (1798\u20131872)<\/strong><\/h4>\n
1864 \u2014 The Battle of Solferino<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n<\/strong>Seeing the carnage at Solferino, Henry Dunant calls for international rules and neutral, trained volunteers to aid the wounded. This leads to the first Geneva Convention and the founding of the Red Cross.
\nGeneva Convention
\n<\/strong>Signed by all states worldwide. It obliges parties to care for the wounded on the battlefield\u2014regardless of nationality\u2014and protects medical workers and the Red Cross emblem.<\/p>\nADVOCATE FOR PEACE \u2014 Henry Dunant (1828\u20131910)<\/strong><\/h4>\n
1899 & 1907 \u2014 Arms Race & The Hague Peace Conferences<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n<\/strong>France and Russia conclude a secret defence pact; Germany withdraws from agreements with Russia. New technology fuels an arms race.
\nThe Hague Peace Conferences
\n<\/strong>Two conferences adopt 20 treaties, including rules on new technologies (e.g., balloons, exploding bullets) and new protections for prisoners of war, civilians and cultural property.<\/p>\nADVOCATE FOR PEACE \u2014 Bertha von Suttner (1843\u20131914)<\/strong><\/h4>\n
26 June 1945 \u2014 World War II & The UN Charter<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n<\/strong>The deadliest war ends with the first atomic bomb. Some 25 million civilian deaths include the systematic persecution and murder of about six million Jews, and of Roma and Sinti. The world agrees: never again.
\nUnited Nations Charter
\n<\/strong>Allied nations meet in San Francisco to build a world without war and poverty. The Charter sets duties for peace and security and clarifies when war may be justified\u2014echoing Books I\u2013II of Grotius\u2019 De iure belli ac pacis (jus ad bellum)<\/em>. Signed by 51 states then; today, 193.<\/p>\n1949<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n<\/strong>In response to the immense suffering of war, states come together to set rules to prevent unnecessary harm during armed conflicts. The International Committee of the Red Cross is the main organizer of this conference and plays an active role in the preparation and negotiations.
\nThe Geneva Conventions
\n<\/strong>The nineteenth-century Geneva agreements continued to evolve, with the most important expansion in 1949. Four conventions are adopted, signed by all countries worldwide. They set out the protection of the wounded on land and at sea, the treatment of prisoners of war, and the protection of civilians in wartime.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n1954<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n<\/strong>During the war, countless monuments, museums, archives and religious buildings were deliberately attacked, looted or destroyed. In its aftermath grew the realization that cultural heritage also needs stronger protection.
\nThe Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property
\n<\/strong>This convention requires states to spare cultural heritage in wartime. Cultural property must not be deliberately targeted. The Blue Shield indicates what must be protected.<\/p>\n1970 \u2014 Fear of Nuclear War & The NPT<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n<\/strong>After Hiroshima and Nagasaki, concern over nuclear weapons grows. The NPT aims to stop their spread: non-nuclear states pledge not to acquire them; nuclear states commit to disarmament talks. Peaceful nuclear energy remains accessible. Nearly all states sign.<\/p>\nADVOCATES FOR PEACE \u2014 \u201cMake love, not war\u201d<\/strong><\/h4>\n
ADVOCATES FOR PEACE \u2014 Doctors Without Borders (MSF)<\/strong><\/h4>\n
1972 \u2014 The Vietnam War & The Biological Weapons Convention<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n<\/strong>Napalm and Agent Orange cause devastating harm to people and nature; for the first time, mass media bring the war into living rooms.
\nBiological Weapons Convention
\n<\/strong>Building on earlier ICRC proposals (1956), states adopt new protocols after Vietnam: rules on chemical, nuclear and biological weapons, including bans on developing, producing and stockpiling bacteriological or toxin weapons.<\/p>\nADVOCATES FOR PEACE \u2014 Global Protests<\/strong><\/h4>\n
1976<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n<\/strong>During the Cold War, states experiment with influencing the weather. Fears grow that such methods could be used as weapons.
\nEnvironmental Modification (ENMOD) Convention
\n<\/strong>Bans the use of environmental modification as a means of warfare. States may not manipulate climate, nature or geophysical processes for hostile purposes.<\/p>\n1977<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n<\/strong>After 1945, civil and guerrilla wars increasingly affect civilians; internal conflicts remain weakly regulated.
\nAdditional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions (1977)
\n<\/strong>Two protocols expand protection for victims\u2014civilians and wounded fighters\u2014in both international and non-international armed conflicts.<\/p>\n1980<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n<\/strong>Experience from conflicts like Vietnam shows that some common weapons cause excessive injury or indiscriminate effects.
\nConvention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW)
\n<\/strong>Bans or restricts weapons such as incendiaries, mines and booby traps.<\/p>\n1987<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n<\/strong>Nuclear tensions peak in Europe; protests surge. With Gorbachev and Reagan moving closer, disarmament becomes possible.
\nIntermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty
\n<\/strong>Eliminates missiles with ranges of 500\u20135,500 km and allows on-site inspections\u2014unprecedented at the time.<\/p>\n1993<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n<\/strong>Iraq\u2019s use of chemical weapons against Iran and Kurdish civilians shows that gas is no relic of the past.
\nChemical Weapons Convention (CWC)
\n<\/strong>Bans the production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons and requires destruction of existing stocks; the OPCW verifies compliance.<\/p>\n2000<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n<\/strong>Worldwide, children are forced to fight; earlier rules prove insufficient.
\nOptional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict (2000)
\n<\/strong>Raises the minimum age for participation in hostilities from 15 to 18, also applies to non-state armed groups.<\/p>\nADVOCATE FOR PEACE \u2014 Malala Yousafzai<\/strong><\/h4>\n
ADVOCATE FOR PEACE \u2014 Divina Maloum<\/strong><\/h4>\n
ADVOCATES FOR PEACE<\/strong><\/h4>\n
2022<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n<\/strong>Missiles and artillery in urban areas cause rising civilian harm and destroy vital infrastructure; the environment suffers lasting damage.
\nPolitical Declaration on Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas (EWIPA)
\n<\/strong>83 states pledge to limit heavy explosive weapons in populated areas.<\/p>\nADVOCATES FOR PEACE \u2014 The Red Line Demonstration (The Hague, 2025)<\/strong><\/h4>\n
2025 and onwards<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n<\/strong>More systems use AI\u2014for example autonomous drones with minimal human control. Even where law lags behind, the Martens Clause affirms protection for civilians and combatants.
\nEU AI Regulation
\n<\/strong>In early 2025, the EU adopts rules for the responsible development and use of AI in weapons; there is still no binding global treaty on autonomous weapon systems.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text uncode_shortcode_id=”491783″]<\/p>\nINTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW TODAY<\/strong><\/h4>\n
KEY RULES OF THE LAWS OF WAR<\/strong><\/h4>\n